


like it's the same but still brand new

by JD2357



Series: janurwby prompts 2021 [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: (in a vacuum at least), ...ish, Allusions to Trauma, Canon Temporary Character Death, Comedy, F/F, Happy Ending, Holding Hands, Hugs, JanuRWBY, Sorta Fluffy, mentions of loads of other characters, slight angst, sorry renora fans for using a lyric from ur song for the title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28484472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD2357/pseuds/JD2357
Summary: Some homages to lost loved ones are obvious; some aren't so easy to see. Some are hidden altogether. Team RNJR exemplify the entire range.But it's harder to hide them when that loved one comes back.
Relationships: Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Series: janurwby prompts 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086476
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	like it's the same but still brand new

One night, they talked about the red sash. 

Not for very long, and not with anything casual about their moonlit chatter between concentrated, failing attempts at falling asleep on the warmer hills of Anima. Everyone knew what it meant; everyone knew who it was for, and who it was from. With the gold highlights on his sword and shield, it was evident. In the end, Nora trailed off onto some tangent about Beacon days, and they all pretended to feel alright - that they weren’t just deflecting back to happier times to keep from thinking too long on the end of happy times - until three fell asleep, assuming the leader of Team RNJR to be too.

Ruby always slept last. At least, on the days they all _intended_ to sleep. Nights where Jaune would stay up, torturing himself to the sound of spoken words on a training video and, most of all, the unspoken words between her silences - some of those nights, she’d be the one fooled into going first. Not that she ever stayed asleep for long, before something from that night would come to haunt her again.

One night, they talked about the dagger.

Everyone had seen Ren, of course. His temper was something striking in its rarity, akin to the distant gunshot of a huntsman - or a Huntsman - as one traverses a tranquil meadow, stupefying without fail in its harsh juxtaposition with everything one could expect. When Ruby would shout, in those days, it was with elongated syllables, shrill and with something still a bit childish about it. Ren’s raised voice was sharp, crisp; even screaming, it felt strangely like nothing about the way he spoke would _change_ \- only the volume. So of course, they asked what Kuroyuri had meant to him, and what that two-bodied beast had done to spark his quiet fury, and why he’d carried a dagger only to keep it sheathed for so long.

It had been one of their many evenings in Mistral. Oscar had excused himself, despite their offers for him to stay and listen. Ruby understood. He felt he hadn’t earned it - earned being a part of _them._

They never talked about the way Ruby’s white blouse and poofy sleeves seemed an element so different from her old get-up, or even that they seemed familiar at all; about the magnetic clip beneath her cape, a reminder of the near-miss they’d laughed about when _she'd_ worn a sunhat over her red curls; about the rose made of metal she’d moved from her waist that much closer to her heart.

It made sense, she supposed back then. None of them had ever known Penny as well as her. And if they had, they might still have hated her for what she’d meant for Pyrrha - for the secrets she harboured and represented, for giving their shadowy enemy the _opportunity,_ for turning the Invincible Girl’s final victory into one just as pyrrhic as the way Ruby brought the Fall to a screaming halt.

And she never talked about it. They had enough of their own burdens, made manifest in the dagger, in the sash, and the extra weight in gold of Crocea Mors - why bother them with hers? She’d be the one to keep them moving. The only time to spend talking about Penny was for that purpose - to put things in perspective, to keep someone going, like Oscar. So on she would go, never looking back, moving on faster than anyone. It didn’t matter if no one asked, nor that she’d never tell - she could always carry Penny with her when she bursted forward, one way or another.

-

But she did tell one person. Eventually.

-

The first morning - ah, no - the first _afternoon,_ considering how tired they’d been, that she’s gotten out of a warm, fussy bed in the dorm rooms of Atlas Academy. Eager to get exploring, Ruby creeps out of the room while a sleep-drunken Weiss rolled up in three spare duvets mutters about the ‘threat to her lifespan posed by old ladies,’ Blake flicks with squinting eyes through several crummy Atlesian reality TV shows, and Yang offers moral support that surely the _next_ channel will have something tolerable on.

As she nudges the door closed behind her, she catches a deep sigh from the two of them, having instead found a documentary - _‘The Mantle Piece - A City From Riches to Rags’_ \- a strongly pro-Atlas spin detailing how Mantle’s decline has been entirely due to a city-wide victim complex - one which they would learn would take up _many, many_ rerun slots in coming weeks.

Along the great hallways the silver-eyed girl goes, waving to students excited to see a friendly face, and giving a few stern stares to students who _aren’t,_ eventually ending up in the canteen to see if the smell of breakfast--no, wait, lunch by now, oh dear--might wake her up any more.

 **“Sal-u-tations!** Were fourteen hours of sleep enough to leave you refreshed, Ruby?”

She only shrieked a little at the once-familiar voice - she wouldn’t get used to hearing Penny at _all_ for weeks yet, never mind having her call from behind with no indication of her presence at all, with all the ceremony of a lunging Beowolf. “Ah, uhmm, yeah, I’m feeling much better. Thanks, Penny. Why are you....?”

“In the cafeteria?” she asks with a predicting tilt of the head. Saluting herself, she answers her own assumption of Ruby’s question with characteristic gusto, declaring, “Professor Arterson has been relieved of his supervision duties due to an awful case of what the General would only refer to as--” Horror and menace enter her voice. “ _\--‘the runs,_ ’ and so I was happy to accept the honour of ensuring no one steals any food for a given two-hour period!”

Well, Ruby can’t help but smile at that. Her earnest excitement at such a small responsibility is heartwarming; she’s always known that Penny was more social than Beacon had typically given her the chance to be. “Well, I bet nobody will try anything with the Protector of Mantle around!” Serving happily as the redhead’s hype-Huntress, she nudges Penny’s shoulder bobbingly. And Penny, being Penny, returns the motion in what could very nearly be considered a shoulder barge, and would certainly earn her a yellow card in plenty of sports.

A quick use of her Semblance saves Ruby from a meeting with the cold marble floor beneath.

“By the way, I very much like your new clothing, Ruby! The cotton sleeves must surely keep your arms very warm!”

_Blink._ Ruby tilts her head to one side while eyeing Penny carefully. Did she...notice? Oh no, oh this would be _so_ embarrassing, this would be the worst moment of her whole _life_ if Penny knew Ruby had been thinking of _her_ with almost every detail of the ensemble for her journey to Haven--

“I’m afraid _my_ new clothing is far less cool. It was...um, Dad designed it purely for practical-- _Hic!_ ” The guardian quickly raises a gloved hand to cover her mouth, the hiccup catching her breath mid-sentence. Of course, Ruby knew what that meant; Penny was a terrible enough liar _as is_ without a cue giving her away - but what was she lying about? She _is_ the Protector of Mantle, after all - surely everything about her _would_ be designed with some careful intention in mind. Even...ruffled sleeves and a corset. And a cute combat skirt.

A…

_...Oh._

“Penny,” she starts with a giggle building in her voice, “I can tell that’s not true.” And she almost does laugh outright when the girl seems so shocked to have been caught out, considering how obvious she is. “Did you… Did you ask for it to be inspired by something? Or...someone?”

It’s the second time she’s ever seen Penny blush; the second time she wonders what the necessity to develop an authentic blushing mechanism was for an Atlesian defense weapon; the second time she’s reverently thankful to Dr. Polendina that they _did_ consider it a necessity.

It’s _also_ a contender for the fastest Penny’s ever spoken.

“Well-yes-when-Dad-woke-me-up-I-asked-for-several-details-inspired-by-you-from-Vytal-Festival-Tournament-footage-because-I-thought-I-could-always-keep-some-reminders-of-my-best-friend-in-case-we-never-saw-each-other-again-and-because-you-looked-so _-coolandireallywantedthepeopleofMantletothink **Iwasthatcool,** sothey’dtrustmeto--” _

Ruby stops her frantic explanation in its tracks by taking this new model’s gloved hands in her own for the first time (they’re warm and woolen and homely, she finds), partially for the sake of calming Penny down...and partially because even Ruby’s starting to fall behind the racing syllables from her babbling mouth.

“Penny. That’s fine. Actually, it--it makes me really happy! Because, I… Look.”

Struggling to find the words to express their shared affliction, she takes one of Penny’s hands and places it upon her upper arm. From the way her green eyes light up, Ruby nods, assuming she’s caught on to the meaning--

“...Goodness! Ruby, your biceps have developed by _at least_ 20%, but I don’t understand why that’s relev--”

\--nope. Ruby’s other hand darts up to shush Penny before she catches the two of them any _more_ stares by continuing that mistaken thought. “No, Penny, it’s… You see? The sleeves, they’re like yours. Like the ones you used to wear. At Beacon. I...I wanted a reminder too. So you’re not weird! ...Or we’re both weird.” She grins, and drops her finger from Penny’s lips in time to see them fall agape with emotion.

“And if you feel around my b--HUNGH!”

Alas! A rookie mistake, missing the moment of clear giveaway that a big old guts-squishing Penny-hug was coming, as Ruby’s sentence gets stuck in her throat along with her next few breaths.

“Oh, Ruby, you _truly_ never forgot about me? You really are the dearest companion I could _ever_ know!”

A lopsided smile and the verbal equivalent of Nora’s frequent keysmashing forms Ruby’s response, frantically trying to downplay the extent of the gesture. After a few seconds, Penny starts to pull away, but...leaves her hands in a rather low position down Ruby’s back, bringing forth a cautious expression on the budding Huntress’s face. “...er, Penny?”

The protector of Mantle seems just as bemused, and from the furrow between her fiery eyebrows, it seems she’s _straining_ to do something.

 _...Oh,_ her mind gasps for a second time.

“...Penny, do you remember the day out with Ciel you told me about? When you...y’know, got a magnet all stuck to your head and had to--”

“Oh, yes! That was a very amusing day, but… Ruby, is there something sticky--”

“Yes! Very, um, amusing! So amusing, actually, that I thought...for some utility and a nice reminder of that story, I might...keep a little magnetic strip on the back of my belt!”

Ruby laughs nervously, rubbing at the back of her growing hair with a sheepish hand, while Penny finally stops trying to rip her hands from what she now realises is a magnetic force keeping them tightly pinned under Ruby’s cape.

“...”

“...ha....ha?”

“...Dad will _not_ be very happy with you, Ruby.”

_“ShutupshutupshutupIknoooow!”_

“I still have approximately one hundred and six minutes remaining of my section on the supervision rota!” Ruby wilts ever so slightly, fully aware that Penny will be upset about the inconvenience to the task she was proud to be--

“You shall be ever so uncomfortable with my hands stuck on you for such an extended period of time!”

...This time, she can’t help laughing.

She doesn’t say so, but… If anything, that’s the one part of this Ruby won’t mind.

-

...As for the scolding about being more careful with Penny she receives from the General later that evening, once the ‘science team’ has finally got the pair separated without having to detach any of Penny’s limbs, she _does_ mind that. And the very first advisory notes sent to Pietro Polendina on Ruby Rose with the assignment to design the group’s new combat gear is a message stating;

_“No more magnetic strips. We are not having any more of these incidents. -James”_

Ruby doesn’t mind in the end, when she opens the case and finds her new ensemble for Atlas. She doesn’t need mementos of Penny anymore.

She has the real thing again.

  
And she _is_ as real as anything. No matter what anyone says.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!!
> 
> for day 1 i wanted something with a bit of *fun* to it, y'know? get the new year started with something not TOTALLY angsty. cause looking at the 31 days of prompts, boy there'll be plenty of time for angst later. 
> 
> i hope tagging this as Ruby/Penny is fine - it's maybe not *totally* explicit (?) but the subtext is...utterly slapping you in the face. and i do have intentions for more feelsy NND stuff throughout the month, so that's something either way!
> 
> prompt was "favourite outfit" - i couldn't decide between V4 Ruby and V7 Penny, and figured - why have to decide?


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